Hand Tools

Last year when we moved the crates for the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event into our former shop, it was a half-hour production with a lot of grunting, sweating and jerry-rigging to get the 3,000+ pounds of Lie-Nielsen goodies off the truck, through inconveniently narrow gates to the “loading dock” outside our doors, over the...

“The Joinery Challenge,” a new DVD from Ron Herman, is now available for pre-order at ShopWoodworking.com (and on sale for $5 off the regular price through the end of June). This exercise is one Ron had to pass when he was in his apprenticeship on his way to becoming a journeyman housewright (he’s now...

Megan Fitzpatrick and I drove up to Columbus, Ohio, last Thursday with Al Parrish, our staff photographer. We visited Ron Herman at the shop for his business, Antiquity Builders of Ohio. Ron had recently shot a couple of videos for us; one on sharpening saws and one on a joinery exercise. He’s working on...

Fridays are fun, but it’s Saturday at a woodworking event – such as this weekend’s Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event held at the offices of Popular Woodworking Magazine – when you can get a better glimpse into the future of woodworking. You may see new tools on display for the first time, which tools are...

Jim Tolpin’s newest book, “The New Traditional Woodworker” teaches the reader how to work with hand tools by using them to build useful bench and shop tools. Each project builds on the skill learned in the preceding chapter. This process makes for an easy and fun learning curve. One of the more attractive project...

I just received my advance copy of Jim Tolpin’s new book, The New Traditional Woodworker, and even though I was very involved with putting the book together, it’s always a pleasant surprise to see the finished product. I’m proud of this one! Beyond the fact that Jim has put together an excellent teaching platform...

A piece of scrap and an afternoon will challenge and stretch your skills.
by Robert W. Lang
Pages: 54-55
From the April 2011 issue #189
Buy this issue now
Imagine yourself in a shop class of 40 or 50 years ago. The assignment for the day is to lay out and cut the block shown in the photo...

Cutting joinery by hand isn’t a romantic journey to the charms of bygone days. For me, it’s a way to obtain better results in less time. I got tired of fiddling with table saw setups and making test cuts. I didn’t like dealing with cuts that were sometimes great and sometimes had a ragged...

Here’s my theory: if you get good using one tool, learning the next tool you pick up will be easier. Good woodworkers connect a piece of wood on the bench and their brain through their hands and the tools in their hands. Learn how to make that connection and you will easily pick up...